Like a Bear in a Trap
by xydriek
Summary: (Roosterteeth zombie apocalypse AU) Geoff, Gavin, and Michael are out on a raid for medical supplies when something goes horribly wrong.


Sweat glistened on Geoff's brow as he peered apprehensively through the dim light of the streetlamp above him. He pressed his fingernails into the wood of the shotgun in his hands, feeling the grain of it beneath his fingers. _They should be back by now. What's taking so long?_ It was a simple mission, really. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin had volunteered to collect medical supplies to nourish the ever-depleting stash back at base. They'd been out on raids together dozens of times now, with Gavin and Michael collecting supplies while Geoff stood watch outside. But nothing had ever taken this long before, and Geoff had a worrisome knot in his stomach.

Geoff's ears perked up when he heard a faint crunch of gravel to his left. He shifted his gaze and saw two figures emerge from the damp fog, he quickly recognized the silhouettes as Gavin and Michael. _They're safe. Thank God._ But it didn't take long for Geoff to realize that something was wrong. Only one of them held a weapon, and neither of them appeared to be carrying any supplies. They were running towards him, and they were running _fast._

As the two approached, figures began to emerge behind them from the fog. At first there were only a few, then a dozen, then a countless number of walkers, all shambling quickly after the two boys. Geoff's eyes widened with terror as he tried to calculate the quickest escape route in his mind. _Fuck._ There was no way they'd make it back to base with that many of them in pursuit, it was over a mile away. They'd need to lose the horde at some point. He broke out into a sprint alongside Gavin and Michael, matching their pace and shooting them a concerned glance.

"We… they… were inside… must've startled them… so many…" Michael panted.

"Lost my bloody gun…" Gavin mumbled. "The fuck are we supposed to do now?"

Geoff frowned and his brow furrowed, scanning the area as he ran. Nothing was familiar, and there was no way he could stop now to consult the map. The three ran in silence for a few minutes, panic growing in their stomachs as the walkers drew nearer. Geoff's grip on his gun loosened as his palms grew sweaty and his breathing was heavy and erratic. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, there was hope. He vaguely recognized a building ahead of him, and realized that there was a fairly safe area just beyond it, behind a chain-link fence. He had taken Griffon and Millie there when the outbreak started, and the three of them had safely camped out overnight while he had tried to contact the others.

"Alright… there's a fence… beyond this building up ahead here… if we can hop it we're good."

Gavin and Michael both nodded, determination setting in on their faces. The gruesome moans of the walkers behind them spurred their efforts to reach safety. When they approached the fence, the three men launched themselves upward, trying to gain a foothold on the slick chain-link. Geoff scrambled over, hardly noticing as the exposed wire on the top of the fence cut into the soft flesh of his forearm. He landed in a patch of soft grass on the other side of the fence and felt the heat of blood trickling down his arm. He heard a heavy thump beside him and turned to see Michael, panting on the ground. _Where was Gavin?_ He spun around to see Gavin struggling on the other side of the fence, his foot caught in the chain-link like a bear in a trap.

The walkers closed in on him as Gavin stared, eyes wide with terror and helplessness, at Geoff and Michael. Michael scrambled to his feet and threw himself at the fence, reaching through the spaces in the wire to grab at his friend.

"GAVIN!" They had all heard Michael scream at Gavin before, but never with this much distress and emotion.

"Michael, I -" The words weren't coming out of his mouth. "Geoff… I'm not going to make it. I'm… stuck here."

"You listen to me, Gavin, you are NOT going to die. You hear me?!" Tears had already begun to form in Michael's eyes, his voice was shaky and uneven. He still gripped the front of Gavin's shirt in his hand and was hopelessly tugging on it, trying to somehow magically pull his friend through the chain-link. However, the walkers were upon him and there was nothing that Michael could do.

They were unsympathetic and relentless as they ripped Gavin away from the clenched fists of his friend. There was a sickening crack and a scream as Gavin's ankle snapped and was yanked free from the fence. The walkers began to tear away at his flesh, the fresh blood heightening their frenzy. Michael was slamming his fists against the fence, yelling incoherently, and tears fell freely from his eyes as he watched his best friend torn to pieces in front of him.

When it was all over, Michael sunk to his knees in anguish. He couldn't quite figure out how to suppress the hoarse screams that were still emerging from his throat, but he didn't quite care, either. He looked down, and through tear-filled eyes he slowly noticed that he was clutching something in his hands. He opened them, and realized that in the struggle he must have pulled the creeper-shaped necklace from around Gavin's neck. He had bought it for his friend years ago, before the outbreak had started, before the world went to hell. He clutched it to himself, body shaking, and squeezed his eyes shut.

Geoff, throughout all of this, had barely moved a muscle. It was as if he had viewed the whole thing through a tunnel of fog. His head was spinning and time seemed to slow down, each second more unbearable than the last. He could barely hear Michael's yelling over the beating of his heart, in his own mind he was miles away. Gavin… The boy was practically a son to him. And now… now what? He was gone, lost to this godforsaken apocalypse. He was just another number in the millions who had been killed. What was the point of it all? So much death, so much pain…

Geoff reached down into the grass in front of him and wrapped his fingers around the pistol that Michael had thrown down while trying to save Gavin. He closed his eyes and shakily brought the barrel up to his temple. In his mind he saw the image of Gavin's face only moments before the walkers had grabbed hold of him. Pain, sorrow, and so much fear. _This isn't worth it anymore._ He was ready to end it.

Michael, still huddled on the ground, looked up at Geoff when he noticed the movement. As soon as his mind made sense of the situation, he launched himself upwards at the man and the two of them toppled to the ground. The gun flew from Geoff's hand and landed in the dirt a few feet away.

"Don't you fucking DARE pull that shit on me!" Michael screamed. Geoff winced and averted his eyes. "What the FUCK were you thinking!? I just watched my best friend get torn into pieces. Do you really think I'm going to let you fucking kill yourself? What about Griffon? What about Millie? What the fuck would I tell them?!"

Geoff looked up at Michael, his eyes dull and full of pain as a single tear slipped down his face. Michael's face softened with sympathy and he pulled the older man up off the ground and brushed the dirt from his back.

The two men staggered off together, with tear-stained faces and empty hearts. "Come on, let's get that cut on your arm bandaged up and head home. We'll get through this. We have no other choice."


End file.
